This invention relates to fiberglass tanks and, in particular, fiberglass tanks for use in underground applications for holding gasoline and other volatile substances.
In recent years, the trend has been to manufacture underground tanks used to store gasoline and other fuels at service stations in underground tanks made of fiberglass. Also, many of the metal tanks that have been installed in past years have now begun to leak due to corrosion and are being replaced with fiberglass tanks because of the inherent resistance of the fiberglass to moisture-caused corrosion in underground applications. Recently the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed the elimination of lead as an octane-boosting additive in gasoline. In order to maintain high-octane ratings of gasolines, it will be necessary for the industry to mix some other additive with the gasoline. The most likely candidate for such addition is methyl alcohol or methanol, which is a byproduct of the gasoline distillation process and could easily be added to the gasoline end product. One of the problems with using methanol as an additive in gasoline that is to be stored in fiberglass tanks is that methanol is an aggressive solvent and will react with the fiberglass, causing deterioration of the fiberglass tank walls. The methanol also has an affinity for water, which always tends to gather in underground tanks and the mixture of the methanol in the water makes an even more aggressive solvent that deteriorates the walls of the fiberglass tank causing leaks and failures in the underground tank.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a fiberglass tank primarily for use in underground applications for the storage of gasoline and other volatile materials that is resistant to the deterioration of the tank walls because of the volatility of the solvent.